String of Hits 2

[drakula63]

Here's a question/bit of speculation...

I wonder if Another String of Hot Hits was originally intended to be the all new follow-up to String of Hits...?

When it was released in July 1980, about four months after SoH had hit Number One, it was an interesting, but mildly disappointing, compilation of old tracks with just one new one, Black is Black (which must have been recorded in 1979). The front cover artwork is incredible, a melting black Fender Strat, and easily as striking and original as the cover art for SoH. This alone makes me think that this album had been planned and in the pipeline for quite a while. Obviously the Shads severed their ties with EMI in early 1980 and so, rather than waste the commissioned artwork, and wanting to get 'Black is Black' out there, maybe the idea of a compilation album arose as a way of cashing in on the success of the previous album to the fullest degree now possible?

Personally I'd have preferred Another String of Hot Hits if it had, say, the full length version of Don't Cry For Me Argentina and the 45" mix of Riders in the Sky - and I think Black is Black, although not as good, should have been released as a single (in the UK) as the follow-up to Riders...

For the cover image alone, this album was worth getting - and, of course, some of us hadn't even bought Shades of Rock at that point, so some of the tunes were new to us! I just have to wonder if the album might have turned out differently, and better, if the Shads had remained with EMI.

[iefje]

The reason for EMI Records to release "Another String Of Hot Hits", was probably to compete with The Shadows' first album for Polydor Records "Change Of Address". They took the outtake "Black Is Black" from the "String Of Hits" sessions, added 12 previously released Shadows tracks and one Hank Marvin solo recording and sold "Another String Of Hot Hits" as a full price album. It made number 16 in the UK, spending 8 weeks on chart, while "Change Of Address" made number 17 in the UK, spending 6 weeks on chart.

[JimN]

I agree with Ivo.

"Another String Of Hot Hits" was a pretty cynical release by EMI - the only time they ever resorted to such a tactic.

One new track for the price of a premium LP!

Had it been released on MfP at 75p, it would have been more tolerable.

EMI cannot have been planning a new album along the suggested lines, because they didn't have the material for it. They had a half-dozen or so other tracks by The Shadows from various stages of the group's career, but those were released some time later and only after protracted campaigning by fans. They certainly weren't in the pipeline for 1980.

No... the next album by The Shadows was going to feature the tracks from "Change Of Address" (though almost certainly with a different album title if released by EMI). There would have otherwise have been no point in recording the material. But they couldn't get the Dave Clark-style tape-leasing deal they wanted from EMI Records and Polydor were willing to offer one.

A great shame, in my opinion and for more than one reason. But that's the way it turned out.

[drakula63]

The reason for EMI Records to release "Another String Of Hot Hits", was probably to compete with The Shadows' first album for Polydor Records "Change Of Address". They took the outtake "Black Is Black" from the "String Of Hits" sessions, added 12 previously released Shadows tracks and one Hank Marvin solo recording and sold "Another String Of Hot Hits" as a full price album. It made number 16 in the UK, spending 8 weeks on chart, while "Change Of Address" made number 17 in the UK, spending 6 weeks on chart.

True... but String of Hits had been so successful (Top Ten in October 1979 and Number One in Feb 1980), that it seems reasonable to assume that a follow-up album of a similar kind might well have been discussed. If this was the case, then I suspect that they (EMI) would have been making moves in that direction as soon as possible, such as commissioning the album cover art. SoH was the Shadows most successful album (apart from 20GG) since about 1962 and I'd have thought that EMI would have wanted more of the same ASAP! Certainly it was a follow up to SoH, aimed at that same market - but I do wonder if there had been even bigger plans for it at first. I can certainly envisage a scenario whereby the top brass at EMI called the Shadows and said "String of Hits... let's have another one!"

[drakula63]

EMI cannot have been planning a new album along the suggested lines, because they didn't have the material for it. They had a half-dozen or so other tracks by The Shadows from various stages of the group's career, but those were released some time later and only after protracted campaigning by fans. They certainly weren't in the pipeline for 1980.

No... the next album by The Shadows was going to feature the tracks from "Change Of Address" (though almost certainly with a different album title if released by EMI). There would have otherwise have been no point in recording the material.

I don't think that is necessarily definitely the case. String of Hits hit Number One in February 1980 (very early in the year) and it must have taken everyone by surprise. I'd be surprised if much, if any, writing had been done by that point for another album. The huge success of String of Hits clearly gave the Shadows what they hoped would be great bargaining power with EMI and whatever form their next album was to take, it's easy to see how they wanted control over the recordings.

My speculation, which I don't think can be simply dismissed, is that a second String of Hits album was discussed early in the year, to the point that a hopeful EMI could have commissioned the cover art. Sadly, as we know, contractual talks broke down and the Shadows went elsewhere. So EMI were stuck with a concept and some artwork but no band. EMI then got thinking about a way of releasing the album without the Shadows direct involvement. It was then an easy task to select some previously released covers and an unused new track. I don't think the Shads would have taken the String of Hits concept to Polydor (certainly not the title), but instead forged ahead with something completely new. As we saw. the covers album approach was adopted - possibly after Change of Address failed to sell as many copies as expected - and this must have been seen as the best way forward.

As has been pointed out... Another String of Hot Hits was somewhat misleading as a title and the album would have been so much better if it had been a set of new, 1980 recordings. In the end it was just a cheap shot at taking away their Polydor sales... which it seems to have done.

Just guesswork, nothing more, but I think there's at least a chance that this unremarkable album could have ended up as something much greater. It wouldn't have taken long to record ten or eleven covers and they already had Black is Black anyway. I would have thought that another album along similar lines would have been an obvious idea and a good one. It ended up as an overpriced compilation, but I think there is a possibility that its origins could have been as something else.

[Iain Purdon]

Nobody is in a position to dismiss speculation, because that’s what it is! Well-informed people may cast doubt and that should not be dismissed either.

However, what happened is what happened!

[manofmystery]

Black is black was destined for "String of Hits" but was dropped in favour of "Song for Duke", a tribute to John Wayne who had recently passed.

[drakula63]

Nobody is in a position to dismiss speculation, because that’s what it is! Well-informed people may cast doubt and that should not be dismissed either.

However, what happened is what happened!

True. But after 42 years, I wonder if anyone is in a position to have a definite answer to what happened, either way. I guess Hank, Bruce and Brian might... as would anyone else who had been involved with the discussions. I can't see who else would be in a position to say yes or no at this stage. I would suggest that the idea would have come from EMI (not the Shadows themselves) and as all (or most) of the tunes would already have been written, then it wouldn't have been a long process. I'd have expected one or two original tunes and maybe a couple more to use as single b-sides.

My speculation is based on having thought about the inevitable knock-on affect from having a HUGE, number 1 album and the fact that this happened very early in the year. When I look at the cover of Another String of Hot Hits, I don't see something that was created quickly. To my mind, if EMI had simply wanted to create an inexpensive cash in, then they might have just used the artwork from String of Hits and just changed the background colour... easy to have done, even then, and very cost-effective... as well as being a direct visual link with the 1979 album. Also, by calling it 'Hot' hits, this suggests, to me, that the original intention might have been to produce a very exciting and up to date album, possibly with a disco flavour. The 'Hot' bit seems slightly out of place otherwise. Something about the black Strat and the red, glowing strings suggests to me that this might have originally been intended as a very up to date and exciting album.

Yes, it's all speculation... but given that the cover art won't have been cheap or quick to produce, then I do believe that there is at least a possibility that Another String of Hot Hits might have been the BIG, new Shadows album of 1980... if they'd stayed with EMI.

Of course, I don't know how many copies each album sold, but I will guess that the Shads and Polydor weren't happy that Change of Address charted lower than a cash-in album containing all (bar one) previously released tracks. This suggests to me that the public had an appetite for another SoH album and further convinces me that this could have been the plan at first. Can I just add that I prefer String of Hits to Change of Address, although the latter is a great album with some excellent tracks. Another String of Hot Hits has a very dramatic and exciting front cover and I'll admit that it's one of my favourites... too good, in a way, for the record that it contained.

[Fenderman]

I wonder if talks broke down in the middle of recording the album or if the album was already 'in the can' and ready to go and just took the tapes with them to Polydor.
I liked the fact Change of address LP had more original written tracks which showed they were working harder at the writing process sadly this diminished as the decade wore on due to several factors.

[Uncle Fiesta]

Change Of Address only contained four original tracks, and three of those were instantly forgettable.